In Asian Equity Markets indices were trading mixed on Thursday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.61 percent. The Shanghai composite advanced 0.92 percent and the Shenzhen composite gained 0.77 percent. But Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.25 percent in morning trade while the Topix index saw losses of 0.19 percent, as shares of conglomerate SoftBank fell 2.88 percent. In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 lost its earlier gains and fell 0.44 percent as most sectors reversed course, with materials shedding 0.3 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar weakened on Thursday against the pound and euro, which rose after Britain’s prime minister won cabinet approval for her draft Brexit plan, although concerns about whether the proposal can clear parliamentary hurdles capped broader gains. Prime Minister Theresa May won the backing of her senior ministers for a European Union divorce deal on Wednesday, pushing the euro and sterling up 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent against the dollar, respectively, from their intra-day lows hit on Monday.

In Commodities Markets natural gas prices rose 18 per cent, their biggest one-day gain in eight years,  as the onset of winter tests the ability of shale production to supply the country. Nymex December gas gained 73.6 cents on Wednesday to settle at $4.837 per million British thermal units, the highest price for the next month’s contract since early 2014. Futures have risen 48 per cent this month. The rise reflects worries that winter heating demand may draw heavily on stocks of US gas in storage.

In US Equity Markets major stock indexes fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling for the fifth session in a row, as financials were hit by fears that regulations on the banking industry would tighten once the Democratic Party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The S&P 500 lost 0.27 percent, to 2,714.95 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.25 percent, to 7,182.83. The financial sector fell 1.2 percent and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500. The S&P 500 Banks index fell 1.6 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday, as investors fretted about renewed weakness on Wall Street, which could signal much deeper problems in the world’s largest economy. U.S. 30-year, 10-year, and two-year yields fell to two-week lows. Yields rallied earlier, bolstered by early gains in U.S. stocks and continued optimism about Britain’s exit from the European Union. Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields fell to 3.117 percent, from 3.145 percent late on Tuesday. Ten-year yields earlier dropped to a two-week low of 3.092 percent.